In this photo taken Oct. 4, 2010, Republican Chip Cravaack looks over past vote totals in his campaign office in North Branch, Minn. Some longtime supporters of Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar are taking a hard look at Cravaack in Minnesotaâ€™s 8th District. (AP Photo/Martiga Lohn)

U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack says his Democratic opponent Rick Nolan wants to cut Medicare by the tune of $700 billion because of his support for the new federal health care law, and the incumbent and his supporters have been taking the claim to the airwaves.

But Nolan, a former Congressman from Crosby, says Cravaack supported the same idea. Nolan goes on to argue Cravaack backed fellow GOPer Paul Ryan’s budget plan which relies on those same savings from Medicare but has failed to mention it to voters.

So who’s right? Neither’s political ads show the whole picture.

The two candidates in the 8th Congressional District are echoing Medicare arguments both parties volleyed around during their respective national conventions in August and September.

The new health care law does reduce the amount of future spending growth in Medicare to the tune of $716 billion over the next 10 years, according to Tricia Neuman, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health policy group in Washington, D.C. The savings come from reducing payments that go to private insurers, hospitals and doctors, she said.

And Ryan’s budget does include those same reductions in future Medicare spending, says Nolan and several political fact checkers. Ryan has said so himself.

“Both would do that and both would retains some other provisions of the Affordable Care Act,” Neuman said.

So Nolan’s claim is accurate; Cravaack voted for the Ryan budget in 2011.

And Cravaack’s claim that the $716 billion in Medicare savings is an actual “cut” is questionable, policy experts say. And it has been debated by partisans. Over and over.

“That’s really an issue of semantics,” Neuman said. “I think calling it a cap on spending would be a better way of describing it.”

The debate was rekindled in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District on Tuesday, Oct. 2, when Cravaack released a second television ad, featuring his parents and reviving past criticisms of Nolan’s support for the Affordable Care Act.

“My opponent believes cutting 700 billion from Medicare won’t have an impact on seniors. I disagree,” he says in the ad. “I approve this message because Medicare is a commitment we made to our parents. It’s a promise I plan to keep.”

Nolan’s side came back with a web ad, claiming Cravaack’s vote for the Ryan plan also would have meant turning Medicare into “voucher system” for insurance companies. The federal government would contribute up to $8,000 for premiums.

That could raise seniors’ health care costs by about $6,300 per year, according to a 2011 Congressional Budget Office report.

“It’s time for Congressman Cravaack to stop the lies and be straightforward with his constituents about his plan to turn Medicare over to private insurance companies,” said Michael Misterek, Nolan’s campaign manager, in a statement.

Cravaack is one of the most targeted Republicans in the nation, with political action committees on both sides putting up serious cash to support or defeat the former airline pilot from Lindstrom.

During this election cycle, outside groups have poured $3.4 million into the 8th Congressional District, one of the highest amounts in the nation, according the Federal Elections Commission. Of that, at least $2.5 million has gone into television ads.

The American Action Network, run by former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, has funneled $487,000 into TV ads attacking Nolan. That’s on top of $680,000 spent by the National Republican Congressional Committee on media purchases.

And Cravaack opponents are spending even more. The House Majority PAC and AFSCME have spent about $1 million to attack Cravaack. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has also spent about $400,000 in anti-Cravaack media buys.

Some of these ads have also included misleading claims. A House Majority PAC ad once claimed that constituents had to pay to meet with Cravaack.

That isn’t true. Cravaack appeared at a Duluth meeting last year where a business group charged $10 a plate for a luncheon. Cravaack has held 29 town hall meetings in the district.

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